The Words to be Used

and w om en are different from dum b animals w e use the w ord different
in two recognized, but different ways.
convince, persuade, induce
These w ords should be carefully differentiated. Historically convince is
a powerful word. Deriving from the notion o f vanquishing, it is used to
convey the idea o f overcoming someone so completely in argument
that acknowledgement o f the truth in question is made. The emphasis
therefore should be on acknowledgement o f some fact or theory.
When American expatriates Sara and Gerald Murphy discovered Antibes
sleepy seaside Hotel du Cap in 1923, they convinced the owner to keep it
open for them out of season with a minimal staff.
Convinced here should be persuaded. To convince someone o f some
truth should be carefully distinguished from persuading them to act in
a certain way. O f course there is an overlap o f meaning. But it is the once
powerful verb convince that suffers deterioration o f m eaning w hen it
is misused.
Cadbury Garden Centre, near Bristol, aimed to convince gardeners to use
more exotic plants.
This should be: aimed to persuade or aimed to induce.

Evading and Preventing

avert, avoid, forestall, obviate, preempt, prevent
Closely related to the business o f arguing in terms o f cause and effect is
the business o f explaining how some consequence m ight be evaded or
prevented. It will be made evident at many points in this book that bad
usage often arises from failure to discriminate precisely between w ords
w hich may have a slight overlap of meaning, but w hich nevertheless
cannot be regarded as interchangeable. In discourse concerning evasion
and prevention the danger is notable. Current practice seems to be to
over-use the w ord avoid. It is gradually taking over in the press and on
the radio w here there are other and better w ords to hand. W hen we
consider the num ber and variety of these words, as illustrated above, we
are bound to regret the excessive use o f one o f them.